He's got the whole world in his hands | Jeongin

Chapter forty-five

"Playing with the ouija board is how you let the devil in."

Nari Park grew up believing in devils. If you look closely, the world is full of them. Men who torture and the women who manipulate. The neighbors who hide horrifying secrets in their basement. The family member that snaps and goes on an indescribable rampage.

Maybe all the monsters out there, maybe they are just humans. The hurt, the fear, the sadness, the rage, the resentment, and the anger. A swirl and flurry of negative emotions that build up and up and up until they burst. That's the funny part about people, sometimes there are no justified reasons for the things we do.

For some it's money or the need to escape. For others, it's just the morbid sense of curiosity. The kidnapping and torture of people. The extreme sexual desire that some just can't shake. The greed and lust overpowers rationality and empathy.

Human skin is so thin and delicate, it can be sliced with paper. It's easy to cut and slice. To rip apart and relish in the screams as you feel oh so powerful. Humans being good people is a conscious choice that some flee from. The alternative of being dominating and powerful, to hold a twisted sense of justification over a victim, it's just too good to resist. Fear is such a funny thing like that.

The world has demons everywhere. From one end of the globe to the other, some events are known and some will never be known. Some screams will never be heard. The idea of believing in some higher power that will destroy these people's souls after they die, it was reassuring. It wasn't a surprise that when Nari became pregnant and had a kid, she taught her faith too.

As Minsi sat with her fingers curled around the planchette, shadows danced across her face. Minho sat with his eyes on the board and Han silently watched from the side. His fingers dug into the soft fleece of the blanket. As they circled the board in figure eight shapes, he clutched the blanket tighter; as if the thin fabric could save him from the horrors that might unveil.

"We're calling out to any spirits that might be with us tonight. No matter who you are or what you are, we're asking you to come forward. You can talk to us with this board. All you have to do is move this device to the letters of the words you wish to spell out. If it's a date, use the numbers. If it's a yes or a no, please move the planchette to those words up in each corner."

Fear bit into Minsi's heart. She was hiding it well, but truthfully, she was terrified. She swallowed the nerves and continued to move the planchette with Minho. The flickering candles made the entire situation far more scarier than she could ever imagine.

Over and over and over again, they circled, but nothing happened. For nearly a minute, it was utter silence. The only sound was the soft roll of the planchette shifting across the wooden board. Disappointment began to fill her while Han nearly burst into tears of relief. Across the way, Minho's eyes never left the board.

"I don't think this is going to work," Minho finally spoke up. "Nothing's happening, so it seems pointless."

"It worked that night," Han uttered.

"We were at a party full of drunk people and you think the board was properly working? It was probably just a dumbass trying to scare us. So the entire thing is fake-" He began to take a hand off the planchette until Minsi interrupted him.

"Put your hand back."

"Why?"

"Just put your hand ba-"

Her eyes widened as the planchette began to move beneath her fingers. Han gasped and Minho quickly shoved his hand back. "Minsi, are you doing that?"

"I wish I was. Are you?"